Big Hits, Big Fines

I've played a lot of football in my day and I can fortunately say that I've never received any type of head injury. Last year when the NFL put into effect a rule protecting players from head to head contact there was a pretty significant uproar about it. Why?

I'm taking a chance to talk about the big hits in the NFL that have recently warranted a significant amount of media coverage-mostly due to the fines and installed regulations to deter players from turning themselves into highly competitive and trained missles with near demi-god strength.

Many of the arguments that i've read or listened to talk about taking away from the game and the sport or things about making the league less fun to watch. Even now i'm at a loss about why making the game just a bit safer 'takes away from the game'. Football about is about collective discipline and strategy, it's like game of human chess.

Let me start out by ranting; I was checking youtube for a hit made by Dunta Robinson (which i will show on this entry) and whether or not it warranted a fine. Callers were also giving their opinions on the NFL's swift hand of justice to limit these [near literally] train wrecks.

Anyway, back to my point; I was on youtube looking at this video clip of Dunta Robinson laying the wood and i scrolled down to read the comments attached to the video. These comments always crack me up, people get so attached to their opinions and statements that they begin to define them as a person-or at least define their internet persona.

It was shocking how many of these people made comments aimed at demeaning the sport, the league, and even the players.

As these men get older, bigger, stronger they become more likely to get injured. ACLs, turf toe, broken bones...concussions/head injuries. Don't get me wrong, i'm all for big hits. My favorite all time player is also one of the most feared by his co-workers but head to head hits are not the be all end all of the NFL or the game of football. It's shocking when people call players and the NFL 'pussies' because they want to minimize the head to head hits or protect players from suffering trauma to the head and neck.



Now think about this in perspective. Professional football players are stellar athletes that make quite a bit of money to play a game but at the end of the day, they're people. They are human beings just like us. They have feelings, they feel pain, they suffer, and most of all: they are not invincible. If anything, with the increase of speed and strength over the last 20 years, they're more likely to become injured.

Can you really persecute the NFL for trying to keep the players safe and healthy?  Not only do concussion hurt like hell, but they can cause serious long-term problems and in extreme circumstances even death. So before you say something stupid about big shitty formed tackles making football worth watching, realize what you're saying about the game and the players delivering and receiving them.

What is a concussion?